1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to mobile devices, and more particularly to a security system for controlling access to functions or features in mobile devices.
2. Related Art
Mobile devices having an increasing variety of features (or, operating modes) are becoming available in ever-increasing numbers. For example, cellular phones often have a camera for taking pictures. Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) also have increasingly more sophisticated functions and features. For example, some PDAs include a voice recorder for recording speech data, or a telecommunications module for transmitting the recorded data to anywhere in the world using telecommunication networks such as cellular telecommunication systems, or even the Internet.
These feature-rich mobile devices have also created some problems. There are areas in which the use of some of the features on cellular phones or PDAs may be highly unwelcome. In particular, mobile devices with photo or video capabilities are not welcome in public restrooms or locker rooms or in other areas providing visual access to information (e.g. classified information in a company) or images that should not leave the area. Such information or images may be recorded and transmitted all over the world using the combination of the photo/video features plus the communication unit/telecommunication features of the mobile device. The availability of such feature-rich mobile devices has led to their confiscation or prohibition when a user enters such areas. For the user of the mobile device, this means the user is not allowed to use or to take the mobile device into the areas. The user typically hands over the mobile device before entering such a restricted area. In this case the user cannot be reached by third persons by the mobile device or the user cannot use the features of the device that are prohibited in the area.
Therefore, a need exists for providing a way of disabling features on mobile devices in a way that prevents the user from enabling that feature without the permission of a supervising agent, thereby precluding the need for the user to deposit the mobile communication unit before entering a predetermined area, and allowing for the user to use the other features of the mobile device that were not disabled by the supervising agent.